Anne Main joins fight to save St Albans Green Belt (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans MP shares Hertfordshire County Council concern

4:38pm Tuesday 2nd December 2008 in News By Alex Lewis

ST ALBANS MP Anne Main has spoken out over the latest changes to housing targets which threaten rural land in and around her constituency.

Government targets threaten the St Albans district with 7,000 new homes over the next decade, and thousands more in neighbouring Welwyn Hatfield and Dacorum.

County council planners fear that as the timescale expands into the future, room will have to be found for yet more homes.

Mrs Main said: "“I share the view of Hertfordshire County Council that the tight timetable will limit opportunities for consultation with the public.

"Developers have huge resources with which they can react quickly with wish-lists of where they would like to build housing but for local councils and local people without their considerable resources, the process inevitably takes longer.

"This review aims to inform a decade of development in our area and we have seen recently how much things can change in just a few months. It is vital, therefore, to give enough time to put together a coherent strategy for our area, and a comprehensive rebuttal for any inappropriate proposals.

"If nothing else, we should remember that producing these plans costs a considerable amount of money, and it is the taxpayer who foots the bill.”